October 7, 2014 In 2011, Wes
Carter was talking to a handful of friends when he realized they had
something in common: They all flew on the C-123 planes after the Vietnam
War, and they were all sick.
During
the Vietnam War, C-123s were used to spray the herbicide Agent Orange.
Although the planes were being used for cargo and medical flights by the
time Carter served after the war, he and his fellow veterans believe
their illnesses—which range from diabetes to cancer—are tied to their
time on the planes between 1972 and 1982.
"We
were physically scraping goop from nooks and crannies trying to get the
thing as clean as possible, because there's quite an odor to it," said
Carter, 68, who flew on a C-123 plane and believes that his prostate
cancer and heart disease are tied to his time in the service.
So far, C-123 veterans have had little luck getting their disability claims granted.
Last
year, C-123 pilot Paul Bailey, who died in October 2013 after suffering
from prostate cancer, became the first of Carter's group to get his
exposure to Agent Orange recognized without having to seek help from the
Board of Veterans Appeals.
"I've
said that because they've granted one, that becomes the de facto
standard, why not grant them all?" said Thomas Bandzul, a lawyer
representing the C-123 veterans.
The
Veterans Affairs Department said in a July 2013 letter to Bailey that
the "preponderance of the evidence suggests that you were exposed to
herbicide onboard the U.S. Air Force C-123K aircraft." But the claims
are considered on a case-by-case basis, meaning the decision isn't
factored in when VA staff look at other disability requests.
The
C-123 crew isn't the first group of veterans to accuse the VA of being
unwilling to recognize that their illnesses are tied to Agent Orange
exposure. For decades, veterans who served in the Vietnam War tried to
get disability compensation, to no avail. It wasn't until almost 20
years after the war that the VA began to link certain illnesses in
Vietnam veterans to Agent Orange. They are still pressing the department
to cover more illnesses, with former Secretary Eric Shinseki in 2010
tying four more diseases to Agent Orange for Vietnam veterans.
And, as before, the VA and the C-123 veterans each believe they have science on their side.
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